Scheduled to enter service by 2030, the offshore wind farm will have the capacity to produce about 2.5 to 3TWh of electricity annually
The Lithuanian offshore wind farm is planned to be operational by 2030. (Credit: Pixabay/Julia Schwab)
The Lithuanian Government has selected the location for the construction of up to 700MW of wind farm offshore Baltic Sea.
Located about 29km from shore, the site covers an area of 137.5km2 and in average water depths of 35m.
The wind farm, which is scheduled to be operational by 2030, will produce about 2.5 to 3 TWh of electricity annually.
Lithuania Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas said: “By employing offshore wind, we will achieve our ambitious renewable energy targets and reduce electricity imports from other countries.
“Our goal is to develop offshore wind in the most efficient and competitive way, and this will also be an opportunity to attract world-class investors to Lithuanian energy.”
Tender for development of offshore wind project will take place in February 2023
The government said that the area has an average wind speed of approximately nine metres a second. Tender for the development and operation of the wind project is scheduled in February 2023.
Prior to launching the tender, the Lithuanian Energy Agency will undertake a strategic environmental assessment and the environmental impact assessment for the project.
The government has also approved the concept for the development of wind turbines in Lithuania’s Marine Territories prepared by the Ministry of Energy.
It expects the new offshore wind project to pull in as much as €1bn in private investment.
In a press statement, the government said: “The Government has entrusted the Ministry of Energy with preparing the necessary bills regulating the support scheme for power plants to be developed in Lithuania’s territorial waters, submitting them to the authorities concerned for coordination, and beginning coordination of the proposed support scheme with the European Commission by 1 July.”
Last year, Lietuvos Energija Renewables, a subsidiary of Lithuania-based energy company Lietuvos Energija, has agreed to acquire 94MW Pomerania wind farm in Poland.